Selecting device for droppers of lace machines



May 16, 1933. M. A. R. RATELADE 1,909,895

SELECTING DEVICE FOR DROPPERS OF LACE MACHINES Filed July 18, 1931 IN \(ENTOR.

Mame A/v'rouve: Rama/v0 RATELADE.

ATTORNEY.- -0i Patented May 16, 1933 UNITED STATES ATEM? was:

MARIE ANTOINE. RAYMOND RATELADE, or LYON, FRANCE, nssrenon rois ooinrn ANONYME DES MECANIQUE vnnnon, or LYon, rnANcn, A complainton FRANCE SELECTING DEVICE FOR, DROPPERS OF LACE MACHINES Application filed July 18, 1931, Serial No. 551,759, and in France September 16, 1930.

My invention relates to lace machines in which the needle bars or pumps are controlled by the insertion of so-called droppers in front of a reciprocating driving member adapted to push said bars. The effective stroke thus varies according to the number and thickness of the inserted droppers.

The selection of the droppers is generally directly effected by a jacquard mechanlsm. This arrangement is somewhat delicate, more particularly at high speeds, and the acquard cards are cumbersome.

According to my invention, the selector mechanism is of the Verdol type and it acts by selecting depending counterweights whlch normally hold the droppers lowered against the action of light springs.

The annexed drawing diagrammatically shows an embodiment of the invention.

Each needle bar 1 is pulled (against the action of springs not shown) by a driving bar or pump 2 loaded by a spring 3. This pump 2 is provided with two teeth 4 which are driven by two transverse driving bars 5 which reciprocate oppositely to each other.

The droppers 6 to 12 are interposed between bars 5 and teeth 1, whereby the position of the latter at the end of each stroke is varied.

Each dropper has a predetermined shape and thickness and it is suspended to a thin steel ribbon 13. The latter depends from avertical rod 14.- which is guided by two superposed guiding plates 15 and 16. A spring 17 acts on the head 18 of rod 14 so as to normally maintain the corresponding dropper disengaged from the corresponding tooth 4 The dropper is thus normally inactive. Ex-

ception should be made for the first and thinnest dropper 6, provided with a tail 19 which is not disengaged at the uppermost position of the dropper. This dropper only acts by the difference of thickness between itsbody and its tail.

Cylindrical counterweights '20 are arranged over heads 18. These counterweights are guided in plates 21 and 22 and they depend from the strings 23 of the Verdol mechanism 24 arranged over the machine. They areheavy enough to depress springs 17 and to lower the corresponding droppers when they'are themselves lowered by strings 23.

The device works as follows:

The 'Verdol mechanism 24 selects counter-J weights 20 and, by consequence, the droppers, a dropper being active whenever the corresponding string 23 is not pulled. It will be noted that the selection of the counterweights known dropper selecting arrangement, the

operation of the selecting mechanism can begin before bar 5 has cleared the droppers Thus, for a given speed of the machine, the

selection with the device according to the invention may be effected less rapidly than with the known arrangements in which the droppers are directly selected by the mechanism since this selection must be efiected only when the droppers are freed. Faults resulting from a too rapid selection are thus" avoided.

In fact, the device is preferably adjusted in such a manner that the selection is almost completed when the droppers are freed.

Another advantage ofthe invention is that the upper and lower positions of the droppers are unaffected by slight variations in the length of the strings. The lower position,

particularly, results from the complete depression of the corresponding spring 17 under the action of counterweight 20 and, if the string 23 is adjusted so as to be then somewhat slack, it is of evidence that the counterweight is neither lowered, nor lifted should the string be slightly lengthened or shortened.

On the other end, the Verdol papers are considerably less cumbersome than the jacquard cards. 7

I claim: I

1. In a lace machine having needle bars controlled by the insertion of droppers, means to insure the selection of the latter, comprising members to which the-droppers are suspended; spring means adapted to malntain said members at a predetermined height; a

selecting mechanism; and counterweights directly selected by said mechanism, said counterweights being adapted at their lower position, to depress said members against the action of said spring means so as to lower said droppers.

2. A selecting arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the selecting mechanism is of the Verdol type.

In testimony whereof I afiix mysignature.

' MARIE ANTOINE RAYMOND RATELADE. 

